Find Us
by Ariadnerue
Summary: In which Emma learns why she is a miracle, and how she got her lifelong compulsion to find people. Father-daughter feels, oneshot.


Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time belongs to ABC.

Wow, this fandom is great. I got so many nice reviews on my first oneshot, Emma. Thanks so much! Anyway, a lot of those review suggested I write another story with Emma and David, so I did. You don't have to read Emma to understand this, but hey, it can't hurt. Season finale spoilers.

* * *

For all his energy and his tendency to leap into action even when it wasn't necessarily appropriate to do so, David was a very patient man.

Especially when compared to his wife.

Back in their world, he had somehow ended up being the voice of reason in most situations. He grew up a shepherd, after all, so he knew the value of waiting. He waited out the long winters so he could tend the pastures, he waited to shear the sheep so he could get the most and best of the wool to take to market, he waited for the lambs to take their first wobbly steps into the world, and he did so with a smile.

But by day two on the Jolly Roger, sailing over the Sea of Neverland in search of the Isle of the Lost Ones, David's patience was being tested.

The wind had stopped again. The first day had started windless and unpleasant, but the wind had picked up in the late morning and they had been on their way for the rest of the day.

David had spent the day helping get the ship into ship shape, as it were, while Snow and Emma had a long-awaited conversation. He was glad for it, especially when he glanced across the deck and saw the two embracing, crying and laughing together like they'd never had a chance to before.

But at the same time, he felt a tug at his heart. Emma was his daughter, too, and they hadn't had their moment yet. She wasn't his biggest fan as David Nolan, so he was at a disadvantage to begin with. Plus he was working with her at the sheriff's office, so they had to maintain a sort of business relationship for the sake of the town.

All of this coupled with Emma's natural distrust made their relationship strange. She had called him Dad for the first time just before they came to Neverland, and all he wanted in the world was to hear her say it again. But he was patient, as always, and he decided to let her come to him, as always.

Still, he began to wonder if his patience was just an excuse for being scared. He was a father for five minutes, and in the blink of an eye his daughter was twenty-eight years old and tough as nails. She was a lot like him, he had come to realize, and he wished she could see it too.

At the moment, however, listening to Regina yell at Hook and Rumpelstiltskin laugh derisively at them both while they all argued about how to get the ship moving again, he really just wanted some peace and quiet.

So David stomped his way below deck to find his wife fast asleep in the cabin. She had been working hard all morning, so he couldn't blame her for sneaking down here for a nap. He paused beside her berth, resisting the urge to bend down and kiss her sleeping lips as he had done on a rather notable occasion long before. Instead, he crept to the back of the cabin and lifted the wooden grate leading down to the hold. He paused and looked back when she made a small sound in her sleep, but she didn't wake, so he dropped down into the cool darkness of the cargo hold.

It was blessedly quiet down here, and he let out a relieved sigh as he pushed a few barrels out of his way and sat down against the wall.

It was only then that he realized Emma was already down there, sitting just a few feet in front of him and watching him with an amused smile. He managed not to jump in surprise.

"Oh," he said, and her smile grew a bit. He gave her a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you down here. I can go back up if you…"

"No, it's fine," she interrupted him with a shake of her head, and he felt his heart leap a bit in his chest. "I assume you came down here for the same reason as me, and I wouldn't want to deny you the peace and quiet."

David laughed at that, and she looked down at her knees with the smile still on her face. They sat in silence for a bit, and David couldn't help but stare at her. She was sitting cross-legged between a pile of crates and what appeared to be a crab trap, fiddling with her sleeves as she stared at her hands. Even in the murky light, her blond hair appeared to shine, and David struggled to reconcile this woman with the baby girl he had held to his chest as he ran through the castle.

"Can I ask you something?" she said suddenly, looking up and meeting his eyes.

"Anything," he replied instantly, and she grinned a bit at the sincerity in his tone.

"Yesterday, when I was talking to Mary Mar-" she stopped. "Snow," she corrected, though her tone was uncertain and she looked down again. "Mom?" she said very quietly, as though she was testing the way the word sounded. She shook her head, exasperated, and looked up to find him smiling fondly at her. She let out an embarrassed laugh. "Anyway, when I was talking to… Mom… I asked her about my grandparents."

David nodded, not quite trusting himself to speak. She had called Snow her mom, albeit with some difficulty, and his heart swelled with pride. Even if she wasn't ready to address him as her dad yet, he was still overjoyed that his wife and daughter had come so far.

"She told me about her parents," Emma continued, her eyebrows drawing down in thought. "And she started telling me about your mother." David's heart sank. He knew Snow wouldn't tell Emma too much about his mother without his say, and he was grateful. But that left him with the job of telling his daughter about the sacrifice she made.

David could still remember clearly the day Snow told him, a few days before their official wedding. She had come to him crying, the grief weighing heavy on her heart. She blamed herself for his mother's death, and she was terrified that he would hate her for it. But he had proven her wrong and taken her into his arms and let her cry while he whispered to her that he could never hate her, never blame her, and that he was proud that it was because of his mother's goodness and selflessness that they would be able to have a child one day. And he meant every word.

"You there?" Emma asked quietly, and David realized he'd been staring at his hands, lost in thought. He offered her an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, sorry," he said heavily. "Uh… when you say she started to tell you, what do you mean?"

Emma gave him that half-smile of hers. "She had a really hard time with it," she began, her voice quiet and a bit confused. "All she told me was that her name was Ruth, and that she was killed by King George's men. But there's a lot she wasn't telling me, and I just want to know why."

David sighed. "There is more, yes," he nodded slowly. "But it's a lot, and it involves all three of us." Emma's eyebrows lifted a bit, the frown still on her face as she listened to him. He looked her in the eye, trying to convey how difficult this was for him. "It'll be hard for you to hear. Are you sure that's what you want right now?"

Emma gave him a look. "I'm a big girl, I can handle it," she said with a smirk.

David sighed again and looked down. "I'm not saying you can't," he said quietly. The smirk slid from her face and she went back to looking concerned. "It's just… it's a lot to take in, and there's already so much going on right now, I don't want to…" He trailed off and glanced up to meet her eyes. "I don't want to burden you with it right now." Emma looked genuinely touched, which he took to be a good sign. But he could tell she still wanted to know the truth, he could see it in her somehow. Maybe it was her posture, or the look in her eyes, but somehow he could tell. "But if you really want to know, I will tell you."

She smiled a bit, and he knew he had been right. "I do want to know about her," she said quietly. "If it's too painful to talk about, we can wait until we're back in Storybrooke, or…"

David laughed a bit and shook his head. She was just like her mother.

"I'll tell you," he said, giving her a gentle smile. "I can't say no to my daughter."

Emma blushed and glanced away. David sat back against the wall and rested his arms on his knees.

"You already know that I'm not Prince James, and that King George was not my father," he began. Emma nodded, and he could see her settling back like he had in anticipation of a story. "My mother, Ruth, raised me alone on a little farm in George's kingdom. We were always rather poor, but we were happy. My father died when I was very young. I only remember him as being strong, and kind."

David paused and smiled at his daughter. "You get your bright blond hair from him," he said, nodding to her. She grinned a bit, unconsciously reaching up and tucking some of said hair behind her ears.

"When I woke Snow from the sleeping curse and we decided to fight King George and Regina for our kingdom, I knew my mother would be in danger," he continued. "We were to meet back at my old farm and take my mother somewhere safe. I arrived before Snow, but I was followed by King George's soldiers, and in the fighting my mother was struck by a poisoned arrow." He glanced up to find Emma leaning forward a bit, hanging on his every word, so he didn't pause long.

"Snow arrived with Sir Lancelot, who you sort of met during your time in the Enchanted Forest," he made a face at this part, having heard the whole story from Snow and knowing the Lancelot they met was actually Cora. "We went to Lake Nostos, the stories of which I know you're well aware." Emma just nodded. "It was dried up, as I'd killed the Siren that guarded it, but Lancelot found enough water for a single sip. He gave it to my mother, but it didn't work. Her last wish was to see Snow and I married, so Lancelot performed the ceremony and she died when it was over."

David stopped and sighed heavily, the memories still fresh in his mind. Emma, who he hadn't noticed had scooted closer, placed a comforting hand on his knee. He was surprised, but it didn't stop him from smiling at her and taking her hand in his.

"But that wasn't all that happened that day," he said slowly. Emma frowned and he met her eyes. "This is the part that involves you. Are you sure you want to hear it right now?" She thought for a moment before she squeezed his hand.

"Yeah, please," she said simply.

David sighed again and looked down. "What I didn't know was how Snow and Lancelot had met," he said with a bitter frown. "Lancelot had been working for King George, and he had captured Snow and brought her to him."

Emma sat up a bit, clearly surprised. Snow must have told her that Lancelot was a dear friend, so David could understand her confusion.

"George placed a curse on her," he continued, his voice low. He still felt angry whenever he thought about it. "He made her barren. She would never be able to have children." He couldn't bring himself to look at Emma, so he continued quietly with his gaze on their hands. "Lancelot found out, and he was furious. So he followed Snow when she was released, and he promised to help her if he could. He helped her get back to me and my mother, just in time to help me get her to the lake. During the trip, Snow talked to my mother. She told her about the curse, but my mother assured her the lake would be able to heal her, too."

David shook his head. "But the lake was dry, and there was only enough water for one sip," he said quietly. He smiled a bit. "My mother tried to get Snow to drink it, but Snow wouldn't hear of it. So instead, my mother and Lancelot tricked us both."

David finally built up the courage to look at his daughter. She was staring at him wide-eyed, her hand a bit slack in his. She was shocked, he could tell, and she wasn't sure how to react. Hesitantly, David reached up with his free hand and placed it on her shoulder. She swallowed hard.

"My mother didn't drink the water. She gave it to Lancelot, who poured it in the wedding cup that Snow and I both drank from when he married us. Neither of us had any idea, until I tried an old trick with my mother's pendant later that day. She had bought it from a gypsy years ago, and if you hold it over a woman's hand, the direction it swings will tell you if her firstborn will be a girl or a boy. It wasn't until much later that Snow told me all this, and she said my mother had tried it on her during their talk. It didn't swing at all. So imagine her horror when I held that pendant over her hand, and she fully expected it to do nothing at all, and she would have to tell me that we could never have a child on the same day that I lost my mother."

David could see the tears in his daughter's eyes, and it broke his heart a little that he had made her cry. He squeezed her hand and leaned toward her a bit.

"That was when she realized what my mother had done," he said softly. "The pendant swung east to west over Snow's hand, and she didn't tell me at the time, but she knew it meant we were having a girl." Emma sniffed, tears spilling from her eyes. "When Snow finally told me all this, she blamed herself for my mother's death. You want to know what I told her?"

Emma looked down, embarrassed to be crying in front of him, but she nodded a little. David smiled and took his hand from her shoulder, reaching up to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"I told her I was proud," he said firmly, and Emma glanced up at him. "It was what my mother wanted, and she had to trick us to do it, but she did it anyway. She wanted us to have a family, even if it meant she wouldn't get to meet you."

Then Emma did something he didn't expect. She let go of his hand and threw her arms around him, burying her face in the front of his shirt to muffle her sobs.

David was thrown. He felt a few tears of his own escape his eyes as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around his daughter and hugged her tightly to his chest. He knew she was in a difficult place emotionally, what with Neal gone and Henry missing, so he didn't say anything at first. He just held her and let her cry.

His daughter.

"You're a miracle, Emma," he whispered at length. "Your mother wouldn't let herself believe she was really pregnant until she first felt you kick. I'll never forget that moment. She gasped, and she looked at me, and she just burst into tears." He laughed a little and kissed the top of her head. "I was scared something was wrong, so I rushed over, but she just took my hand and laid it on her stomach, and I could feel your little feet. It was… it was a miracle."

She didn't respond, she just sniffled a bit and clung to him a little closer. He gently ran his hands up and down her back, willing to give her all the time in the world.

Eventually, she pulled away and scrubbed at her cheeks with her hands. He just waited, hands on her shoulders. She finally looked up at him and laughed a little in embarrassment.

"I've done way too much crying these past few days," she said frankly, and David laughed a bit as well.

"I can't blame you," he said, quickly wiping his own tears away with the back of his hand. "Being in our family comes with certain disadvantages." She met his eyes, confused, and he just smiled at her sympathetically. "We're always trying to find each other."

Emma let out a humorless laugh and looked down. "Don't you get tired of it?" she asked, her voice still a little thick from her tears.

"Of course," David laughed. "I frequently find myself wishing we could all just stay found for a while."

Emma looked down, deep in thought. "Ever since I was a kid, I've always been trying to find people," she said slowly. "First it was you, but when I got discouraged and gave up, I still had this weird compulsion to find people. That's how I got into the bail jumper business."

David leaned back a bit to look her in the eye. He knew he was wearing a guilty expression when she gave him a look.

"That's… well, that's my fault," he sighed. She frowned at him, confused. "The compulsion to find people, that's because of me."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked slowly.

He gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Can I tell you about the night you were born?" he asked quietly.

Emma clearly hadn't been expecting this, so she just nodded warily.

"Snow wanted more than anything to go to the other world with you," he started slowly. "She fought it when she went into labor. But you came along anyway, and we had to make the hardest decision of our lives." David paused, gathering his thoughts. "I'll never forget the way she looked… the pain in her voice, when she realized the first thing she said to you would be 'goodbye'."

His voice caught and he needed a moment to compose himself. Emma let him, and he could see she was fighting against more tears.

"So we bundled you up in your blanket, and I took you away from her, and I could hear her sobbing all the way down the hall," he continued slowly. "We were attacked by Regina's soldiers, and all I remember is knowing I had to keep you safe. I gained a few scars from the encounter, and it must have been loud and scary, but you never made a sound. You didn't cry even once. And when I finally got you to the wardrobe and placed you inside…"

David sighed heavily. He looked up to meet his daughter's eyes. "I told you to find us," he said, very quietly. She looked at him, eyes wide, and he tried to smile at her but it turned into a sort of grimace. "Can you forgive me?"

Emma laughed and reached up to his hands on her shoulders, taking them in hers and squeezing hard. "There's nothing to forgive, Dad," she said quietly. He was pretty sure his heart stopped, and he stared at her with his mouth hanging open a bit. She laughed again.

"After all, I did find you."


End file.
